Tunisian media: One year after the revolution

The doses of freedom that the Tunisian revolution injected
into national media have not been sufficient to revive it after decades of
systematic destruction. It is not surprising that our evaluation of media one
year after the tyrant fell reveals more negativity and pessimism.

Public media remains unchanged. The ministry of the interior
and the Carthage Palace are no longer the source of instructions, leaving this
role to [Prime Minister's spokesman] Moez Sinaoui, who firmly prevented media
and political figures from appearing on TV for being radical critics of the
interim authorities. He banned discussion of heated topics such as
post-revolution torture cases, the involvement of public figures in corruption,
and criticism of the government of Beji Caid El-Sebsi. Nonetheless, some
journalists attempted to address these topics, and as a result they have been
marginalized and intimidated by the administration, which has preserved all
characteristics of the former regime.

Meanwhile, for the majority of private media institutions
that were established and maintained through generous grants and bribes
extended by the political regime in exchange for covering up its crimes and
cheering for its fictitious achievements, it was difficult to break old habits.
Instead, these private institutions took advantage of the chaotic media scene
to flood the market with headlines that increased the share of tabloid
journalism, which relies on scandals and personal and familial secrets for
income. These tabloids became rich as they monopolized government and private
sector advertisements. This source of income enabled trash newspapers to
increase publication and raised additional suspicions regarding the course of the
evolution of Tunisian media. Journalists' poor professionalism and lack of
confidence in the prospects of evolutionary change helped consolidate this pattern.

The press in Tunisia, like in other countries, is not
measured only by the multiplicity of headlines, the number of laws, and
editorial content but also by the existence of an overall favorable climate for
practicing journalism. In this latter regard, the evaluation returned very poor
results, as many violations against press freedoms and journalists were documented.
These violations include assaults by the security apparatus, prevention of
media coverage of events, confiscation of work tools, intimidation, tasking the
anti-crime unit with investigating complaints against journalists, and frequent
dismissal of dozens of journalists from private media institutions subject to
the whims of employers whose wealth has been associated with the deposed
regime.

At the same time as the newly elected government was
assuming office last month, journalists and the press were facing harder
challenges, including repeated physical assaults. In addition to the typical assaults
by security forces experienced under Ben Ali's regime, we are now faced with
political and Salafi militias that have already carried out repeated assaults
and issued threats to kill journalists and burn media institutions, accusing
them of political bias and moral degradation.

Wrong messages sent by the new government have increased
tension, suggesting that real risks await the free press in Tunisia. More than
one government official has stated that public media should reflect the views
of the parties elected, alluding to the ruling troika. Prime Minister Hamadi
Jebali even spoke of state media instead of public media. On Saturday, January
7, the Jebali government appointed new officials to head public media
institutions, including three editors-in-chief. The measure was entirely
rejected by journalists, free press organizations, civil society activists, and
several political parties on grounds that it constitutes a regression since the
appointees included figures known for their close ties with the deposed regime.
The appointments created tension within the coalition government as the
Democratic Forum for Labor and Liberties and the Congress for the Republic,
both of which are partners of the Islamist Al-Nahda party in the government,
issued statements rejecting the appointments and demanding that those who were
used by the former regime to destroy and repress the media sector be excluded.
The sit-ins organized by journalists and their supporters in several cities in
Tunisia on Monday, January 9, calling for more vigilance to safeguard the most
important asset in post-revolution Tunisia, raised awareness about the
seriousness of the situation.

Despite the deep wounds the deposed regime inflicted on the press,
the sacrifices of martyrs still inspire us to revolutionize the media sector.
The current situation strengthens the ambitions of the incumbent government to
control or contain the media sector under different names. Resisting these
tendencies cannot be carried out in conjunction with the forces that supported
the former regime and became tainted by its crimes, not only because they lack
the legitimacy to shoulder this responsibility but also because engaging them
would simply weaken the endeavor.

I believe that the path to liberate the media is a long and
thorny one and is closely linked to the nature of the democratic transition in
Tunisia. I believe that concentrating on the following three themes would put
us on the right track:

Incorporate the media issue into transitional justice,
meaning that dismantling the system of oppression and corruption in the media
sector must take place through legal channels since the crimes committed
against the media -- whether the multi-million dinar bribes paid for in
taxpayer money or the police reports against the press -- resulted in the
detention, starvation, and suspension of journalists and the overthrowing of
legitimate professional bodies, as was the case with the National Union of
Tunisian Journalists. Opening the archives of the ministry of the interior, the
prime ministry and the Agency for External Communication would provide the
judiciary with sufficient evidence to convict many journalists who hypocritically
joined the revolution and are leading the media sector today in search of their
lost innocence. One crucial step in this regard is to promptly draft a black list.

Stipulate in the constitution the freedoms of expression, publication, and creativity, the independence
of the media and the right of access to information. These principles must be
free of exemptions and limitations that would render them pointless and nullify
their supremacy. Reconsider the laws that provide for detention of media
personnel under any justification whether political or ethical.

Assign a reforms commission to oversee, regulate, and
protect the media sector from abuses and violations. The commission must be
founded on a broad base of experts, professionals, and activists from free
expression organizations. However, the commission must not have powers parallel
to those vested in the judicial authority.

It is unlikely that these or other prescriptions will be
adopted easily, considering the ferocity anticipated from those who make their
living off the backward media sector and those looking to control and
domesticate the sector. Therefore, journalists need to exert additional
collective efforts in order to convey their protests with the help of civil and
political society organizations as well as free press and free expression
international organizations.